Ecomorphology of eletric ray digestory tract Narcine brasiliensis (Ofers, 1831) (Torpediniformes: Narcinidae) in the South Coast of São Paulo

Abstract

Among the vertebrate species, the most abundant group is fish. Currently, the group of gnathostomes fish is divided into two classes: the bony fish (Actinopterygii) and cartilaginous fish (Condrichtyes). Elasmobranchii is a subclass within the class of Condrichtyes. Their representatives are the rays and sharks. These can be found scattered around the world in various habitats. Due to this diversity of locale and the importance of these species in the trophic control population, they had to develop different feeding strategies because they are considered top predators. Understanding food elasmobranch behavior can assist in understanding the functions and evolution of the feeding system of vertebrates. Thus, we may better understand their behaviors. It is necessary to study the morphology of the digestive tract in order to investigate the relationship between the type of feeding, digestion and energy utilization. Narcine brasiliensis is a benthic ray captured by bottom trawls and discarded while still on board. Despite being a very kind captured, little is known about their life cycle, distribution and feeding behavior. Being a benthic ray, that fish becomes very susceptible to impacts from the environment. The current study aims to describe the morphology of the digestive tract of N. brasiliensis in order to contribute to the understanding of the feeding behavior of species of trophic relationships. (AU)